


We can be who we are

by wendyjones



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Smut, Summer Romance, its like grease only gayer and with more football, modern day grease au, sorta - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-08
Updated: 2016-06-08
Packaged: 2018-07-13 20:32:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7136057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wendyjones/pseuds/wendyjones
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a chance meeting in New York, Louis resigns himself to the fact that he'll never see Harry again.</p><p>But upon receiving a surprise scholarship that sends him halfway across the world, they happen to cross paths once more. The Harry he meets isn't exactly the Harry he remembers.</p><p>*****</p><p>A sort of Grease AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	We can be who we are

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first ever work so please bear with me! It's unbeta'd and a bit of a mess but I've never read a Grease au before and thought I'd have a go and put my own spin on it. This isn't an exact retelling of the original plot. I've changed a lot of things and taken a lot of things out but the basic plot line is heavily inspired by it.
> 
> Enjoy!

 

*****

 

“Please,” Louis batted his eyelashes at his best friend, gripping her arm lightly and tugging her gently towards the queue. Jess snorted and shook her head, shaking Louis off.

“Hell no. Nope. I’m not doing it Lou,” she was so stubborn. Sometimes Louis regretted choosing Jess as his best friend. Going on this holiday with her was clearly a huge mistake. Saying no to Louis was _totally_ against their friendship code. It was a disgrace.

“We’ve been on way worse rides than this today! How can you be so scared of a bloody Ferris wheel?!” he asked, voice incredulous and hands flailing towards the ride. He cleared his throat when he realised how whiney he was being. Jess tilted her chin defiantly.

“Because, _Lewis_ , I got stuck on one when I was six years old. Haven’t been on one since and I’m not planning on changing that, no matter how hard you beg,” Louis pouted.

“Well then. If you’re not going to come on the wheel with me then I’ll just have to find someone else who will,” he retorted, resisting the sudden urge to stick his tongue out.

“I will,” a deep, distinctly American voice rumbled. Louis flinched, the noise somehow still a shock even over the blaring music echoing out of the rides. He turned around and was greeted to the sight of a firm chest, swirling ink peeking out of an emerald tank top. Louis raised his chin slightly and took in the boy stood before him. He was tall and broad, with tousled hair and a dimple in his cheek. A pair of ray-bans were resting atop his head and his skin was tanned and slightly glistening from the afternoon sun. Louis' mouth watered a little bit.

“Sorry,” Louis replied, dumb and a little bit breathless. The mystery boy stepped closer and Louis was only vaguely aware of a pink-haired girl next to the boy who rolled her eyes and walked away.

“Do you wanna ride the wheel with me? Since your friend doesn’t want to,” he asked, voice smoky and sure. Louis felt like he was dreaming. He bit back a grin and felt like a fourteen year old girl. It was an amazing feeling.

“Sure,” he replied, snapping out of his daze and turning to give Jess a shit-eating grin. He tried to channel ‘ _see, at least someone wants to ride with me’_ into his expression. She flipped him off as the boy steered them towards the wheel with an easy hand pressed against his back. Louis wasn’t ashamed to say that he swooned a little.

“I’m Harry,” he introduced.

“And I’m Louis,” he chirped back, “C’mon, there’s no queue,” Louis was eager. Riding the wheel was an even more exciting prospect now that he knew he’d be pressed up against Harry for three minutes. They flashed their wristbands to the ride attendee and boarded the wheel instantly, sitting down in the rickety seat.

“So, who was that you were with? The one with the big wheel phobia,” Harry asked as they both lifted their arms, allowing the safety bar to slowly lower down. They were sat quite close together. Louis didn’t mind at all.

“That’s Jess. My best friend from back home. She’s the worst,” Louis joked as the bars locked into place with a _click_.

“You’re British, yeah?” Harry asked curiously, lowering his arms and smoothly placing one behind Louis’ back as the wheel jolted into life, moving at a pace that felt much faster than it had looked.

“Mmm hmm. Decided to spend a week of our last summer before uni in New York. Cost a bomb but it’s totally been worth it so far,” he explained a little wistfully, enjoying how peaceful it became as they approached the top of the wheel, 40 metres above the ground.

“I see. I’m here visiting my sister, she goes to NYU. I’m from LA,” Louis briefly thought back to the pink haired girl and assumed that she was who Harry was referring to. 

“Who goes to Coney Island with their sister? That’s a bit lame,” Louis teased, bumping Harry’s side gently and making him chuckle. “Like, I love my sisters but that sounds like a nightmare,” Harry shrugged, undeterred.

“She’s my best friend really, why, are your sisters mean to you?” he asked with a smirk.

“No! No, not at all. I have four of them, all younger than me. I love them to pieces but they can be a right handful. My Mum’s pregnant again and I’m dying for a little brother. Really want a sibling to play football with,” Louis rambled, unable to hide his smile as he thought about his crazy family.

“I play football,” Harry announced, puffing out his chest to display his vest. There was a yellow logo printed across the front that read ‘G Packers’. Louis couldn’t help rolling his eyes.

“No, you don’t. Football is a game you play with your feet. Hence _football_. The game that you’re probably talking about is more like rugby,” Louis folded his arms across his chest. Harry snorted out a laugh.

“It’s football when you’re over here doll,” he drawled, patting his hand against Louis’ shoulder. Louis couldn’t help leaning into the touch a bit. Harry was apparently very tactile. That was cool. Louis liked tactile people.

“Eugh, Americans,” Louis mocked gently, rolling his eyes. Harry laughed once more.

“Hey, none of that,” he chided. Louis was about to retort, something about the way American's pronounced 'aluminium', when the wheel screeched to a sudden stop. The seat they were sat in swung violently, right at the apex.

“What’s going on?!” Louis asked, frozen still and gripping onto the bar with white knuckles. He felt like his stomach was all the way down on the floor. Somewhere out there Jess was laughing at him.

“…erm, I’m not sure. We stopped I guess,” Harry sounded like he was trying (and failing) to hold back his amusement. Louis gulped. The music emitting from the ride cut out.

_‘We’re sorry to announce that the big wheel is currently suffering some technical difficulties. Stay calm. We are working to fix this as soon as possible.’_

“Harry?” Louis muttered weakly, his grip on the safety bar tightening. Harry smirked.

“Thought you weren’t afraid of the big wheel?” he teased, dimple forming in his cheek. Louis scowled, knees knocking. He could hear the ‘told you so’ that Jess was telepathically sending him.

“Yeah, not when they’re moving. What if we die up here? What if there’s a gust of wind and the wheel tips over? What if a bird collides with our seat and kills us both?” Harry placed his hand gently over Louis’. He tried to not be too overwhelmed by how huge Harry’s palm was or else he'd probably pass out and that would be incredibly humiliating.

“Shh. Relax. We’re fine. We’ve got the best view in the whole of Coney Island right now,” Harry replied, gesturing to the view of the park they had. It was a pretty good view, but it did nothing to ease Louis’ nerves. The seat shook some more as Harry shuffled about, reaching into the pocket of his jeans.

“…but,”

“Stop. Here, have some caramel corn to ease your nerves,” Harry held the bag out to Louis and the smell coming out of it made his mouth water. Bloody delicious, sugary American food. He desperately wanted to grab a piece but the thought of letting go of the bar made him panic.

“I’m not letting go of this bar,” Harry snorted.

“Open up then,” Louis arched his eyebrow but did as he was told, opening his mouth wide and watching Harry warily. Slowly, Harry dipped his fingers into the bag and pulled out a piece of popcorn, placing it into Louis mouth. The caramel melted on Louis’ tongue and the taste was so divine that he couldn’t stop the small moan escaping. Harry’s eyes glinted a darker shade of emerald and Louis held his gaze as he chewed and swallowed.

“S’good,” Louis shrugged, cheeks burning under Harry’s lusty stare.

The intense moment was broken as the wheel jolted back into life. Louis took a deep breath, clearing his head from the sudden rush of adrenaline. Harry threw a piece of popcorn into the air, catching it in his mouth as they reached the bottom of the ride, the wheel pausing as the safety bar lifted up. Louis scrambled out of the seat, silently grateful to be on solid ground. Harry followed soon after, pushing his sunglasses down onto his nose and looking from side to side.

“I can’t see Jess,” Louis frowned, pulling his phone out of his pocket. He had one new message.

“I can’t see Gem either,” Harry mumbled. Louis opened and read the text.

_Piss off am I bein the third wheel. Me and Gemma have gone for food. Have fun with Romeo, I’ll catch u at the hotel later. Love u_

“Well. Looks like it’s just us now,” Harry murmured into Louis’ ear, reading the text over his shoulder. Louis couldn’t stop his toes curling in his vans.

“What ride do you wanna try now?” he asked.

“I’ve got an idea,” Harry drawled, voice far too seductive and low, causing the hairs on the back of Louis' neck to stand on end.

 

*****

 

Harry ended up dragging him onto a log flume, pulling him tightly to his body for its entirety and using him as a human shield against the splashes of water. Louis got his pay back by flicking water at him from over the side, shrieking and gripping onto the boat as Harry scooped a handful of the freezing water down his back.

After that they got some food, Harry paying because he insisted that he was a gentleman. The setting sun was pretty strong so Louis slapped some sun cream onto his face. It took Harry an hour to inform him that it wasn’t properly rubbed in.

They ended the night wandering around, choosing to walk off the food as opposed to risking a ride with a full stomach. Lights flashed and music sounded and Louis felt buzzed and so, so happy. Louis wasted five dollars trying to win a stuffed monkey at a game stand. Harry won the game on his first go.

He kissed Harry at twenty to midnight, dumb and reckless from the adrenaline pumping through his veins. Their lips melded together, Harry’s arms tight around Louis’ waist and Louis’ hands placed on Harry’s neck. The kiss was far from appropriate and they left the park together after one too many scandalised stares.

 

*****

 

The next morning Louis woke up in an unfamiliar bed, lips pressed against a smooth and solid chest, bare legs tangled with a much longer pair. He felt utterly content and sated.

He yawned, stretching his legs out and shuffling, tugging the duvet tighter around his body and opening his eyes. With a tilt of his chin he noticed that Harry was already awake, led on his back with his arms behind his head, totally exposed since Louis appeared to have stolen the entire duvet. Whoops.

“Morning,” Harry rumbled, pulling Louis and the duvet on top of him fully. They were both half hard and Louis couldn’t help grinding down a bit as he fixed himself into a more comfortable position, hands pressed on Harry’s chest.

“Last night was fun,” Louis rasped, his eyes squinting open. Harry grinned, resting his palms in the curve above Louis’ ass.

“Very fun,” he agreed.

“Mmm,” Louis responded, content. He rested his head sideways and felt a pair of lips mould themselves against the crown of his head.

“So, how much longer are you here for?” Harry asked into his hair, his voice deep and husky and rumbling. Louis squirmed, wriggling closer.

It took Louis a moment to do the calculation. “Two more days,”

There was a brief pause.

“Say, how would you and Jess like to spend today with me and Gems. We were planning on going downtown but I’m sure that can be re-arranged. We can show you to all the good spots,” Harry suggested, squeezing his ass as though that would get Louis to agree. It was working.

Louis looked up, eyes locking with Harry’s. Both of them seemed unable to stop the smiles from spreading across their faces.

“I’d like that,”


End file.
